The forecast through April indicates that water deficits will downgrade in the southern half of the continent, becoming primarily moderate across the central breadth and mild in the south. Deficits in the north will increase and intensify, with moderate to extreme deficits in the Sahara and deficits reaching exceptional intensity in parts of the Sahel and into western Ethiopia. Intense deficits will linger in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. Surpluses will persist in western Tanzania.
Africa: Forecast of intense water deficits includes Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia
The forecast through March indicates that water deficits will persist on much of the continent, but the extent of exceptional deficits will diminish considerably. Moderate to severe deficits are forecast across northern and central Africa along with pockets of exceptional deficit. Anomalies will be intense in Nigeria, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Lesotho. Mild to moderate deficits are forecast for southern Africa. Intense surpluses will persist in western Tanzania.
ISciences Worldwide Water Watch List 8 February 2019
Regions forecast to have significant water deficits for the 12-month period from October 2018 through September 2019 include: Quebec (Canada), Finland, Venezuela, Somalia, South Africa, India, Thailand, Cambodia, and Australia. Areas with a forecast of significant water surplus include: Texas (US), Paraguay, Uruguay, Tanzania, and China. This Watch List is based on ISciences Water Security Indicator Model (WSIM) run on 1 February 2019.
Global Precipitation & Temperature Outlook February 2019
Among warm anomalies in the February Outlook the forecast indicates much higher than normal temperatures in Southeast Asia and along China’s southeast coast and in Taiwan. Conditions are expected to be wetter than normal along the lower Yangtze River, in the US Southwest, and around the Gulf of Guinea in Africa.
Africa: Extreme water deficits to persist in W Ethiopia
The forecast through February indicates that water deficits will downgrade considerably. However, areas with notably intense conditions include western Ethiopia; pockets of northern Somalia, Nigeria, and southwestern Cameroon; southwestern Angola into Namibia; and, Lesotho and the Orange River region of Northern Cape, South Africa. Surpluses are forecast for Tanzania, southern Congo into western DRC and northern Angola, and south-central Chad.